Typography - Task 2: Typographic Exploration & Communication

Some uppercase letterforms suggest symmetry, but in fact it is not symmetrical.
Refer to the picture below, it is easy to see the two different stroke weight of the Baskerville stroke form. Each bracket connecting the serif to the stem has a unique arc.

Fig 1.1 The uppercase 'A' in Baskerville

Typography: Letters

The uppercase letterforms may appear symmetrical, but a close examination shows that the width of the left slope is thinner than the right stroke.
Both Baskerville (previous) and Univers demonstrate the meticulous care a type designer takes to create letterforms that are both internally harmonious and individually expressive.

Fig 1.2 The uppercase 'A' in Univers

The complexity of each individual letterform is nearly demonstrated by examining the lowercase 'a' of two seemingly similar sans-serif typefaces, Helvetica and Univers. A comparison of how the stems of the letterforms finish and how the bowls meet the stems quickly reveals the palpable difference in character between the two.

Fig 1.3 Comparison of the lowercase 'a' in Helvetica and Univers

Fig 1.4 Comparison of the lowercase 'a' in Helvetica and Univers (2)

Typography: Maintaining x-height

The x-height generally describe the size of the lowercase letterforms. However the curved strokes, such as 's' must rise above the median (or sink below the baseline) in order to appear to be the same size as the vertical and horizontal strokes they adjoin.

Fig 1.5 X-height for the word 'razors'

Fig 1.6 Close up x-height for the first three letters

Typography: Form / Counterform

Just as important as recognizing specific letterforms is developing a sensitivity to the counterform (or counter) the space describes, and often contained by the strokes of the form.
When letters are joined to form words, the counterform includes the spaces between them.

Fig 1.7 Counterform example

The latter is particularly and important concept when working with letterforms like lowercase 'r' that have no counters per se.
One of the way to understand the form and counter of a letter is to examine them in close detail. The examinations also provide a good feel for how the balance between form and counter is achieved and a palpable sense of letterform's unique characteristics. A glimpse into the process of letter-making is also given.
Its worth noting here that the sense of the 'S' holds at each stage of enlargement. While the 'g' tends to loose its identity, as individual elements are examined without the context of the entire letterforms.

Fig 1.8 Counter in the letters 'S' and 'G'

Typography: Contrast

The basic principles of Graphic Design apply directly to typography.
The following are some examples of contrast, the most powerful dynamic in design, as applied to type (based on a format devised by Rudi Ruegg).
The simple contrasts produces numerous variations: small + organic / large + machined; small + dark / large + light, etc.

Fig 1.9 Different contrast between the uppercase 'A' in Helvetica Bold and Baskerville

Fig 1.10 Contrast differences in many letters

INSTRUCTION

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TASK

Typographic Exploration & Communication

We were given 3 text options for us to choose, in this case I pick the third one which is "Unite to visualise a better world".

1. References

Before starting, I started doing research to understand more about the task and how to play around with composition but have good and simple results.

Fig 2.1 References (27/10/2024)

2. Sketches

My thought process when creating the headline is to use words that can be varied so I can play around with them. That's why I focused more on the word 'visualise'.

Fig 2.2 Sketches (27/10/2024)

3. Before Feedback

I ended up just using two sketches and playing around with other layouts.

Fig 2.3 Digitalization (Before Feedback) (27/10/2024)

4. After Feedback

It turns out I completely overlooked the fact that since this was a title, I should've focused on the body of the text and used it to emphasize the main point. So I added three additional layouts while playing around in Adobe Illustrator while thinking on how to emphasize the main word and ended up with this idea. Because the idea was accepted, I immediately finalized it.

Fig 2.4 Digitalization (After Feedback) (28/10/2024)

5. Layout

Fig 2.5 Layout (All) (28/10/2024)

Fig 2.6 Blocked Layout (28/10/2024)

6. Final Composition

Fig 2.7 Final Composition (04/11/2024)

Fig 2.8 Final Composition with grid (04/11/2024)

Fig 2.9 Final Composition (04/11/2024)

FEEDBACK

Week 6

Specific Feedback: (Absent)

General Feedback: Find the main point in the headline, don't put too much expression, beware with the margin and paragraph spacing.

Week 7

Specific Feedback: The layout is already good.

General Feedback: This week was the time to finalize our task 2 and Mr Vinod explained about task 3. Before submitting the e-portfolio, it is important for us to check whether the file can be seen or not.

REFLECTIONS

Experience

During task 2, I was a little confused at first about starting work. After doing research and reviewing my lessons, I was finally able to think of several ideas. I feel that this assignment is a little easier because this task is the application of lessons and tasks that have been taught and tried before. In doing this, I really admire how designers, especially typographers, can create layouts and compositions that are very interesting but still simple. Because in my opinion, making something that describes the context clearly and is interesting but has a simple layout is more difficult than making something complex and detailed to describe the context.

Observations

I've observed that some of the people in my class had the same problem as me, which is not using the correct main point when creating the headline. And I realized that they probably had the same mindset as me - to find the word that can be varied the most. Looking at the results, I'm still fascinated by how my classmate is able to interpret and process the word differently when we use the same text, sure some looks similar but they still have a distinct differences.

Findings

I learned how to use Adobe Illustrator files into Adobe InDesign, this made it easier for me to change the size and layout more easily without destroying the quality of the work I created. I also learned to understand what needs to be considered when creating layouts, especially magazines. Can the text be read without breaking the reader's focus? Are the print results appropriate? Do some adjustments have to be made? Is the layout and composition used correctly so that it is pleasing to look at and read? Am I using graphical elements appropriately and not overwhelming the title and reading text? And did I succeed in applying everything I learned to this task optimally? This is something that I will continue to keep and use when carrying out my assignments and work in the future.

I also learned a lot from seeing and analyzing the work of many people in making the same thing, especially professionals. Even though I haven't been able to optimize my composition according to the many examples I've seen, I'm happy because I was able to realize my shortcomings and understand what I need to change in the future.

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Aquela Zefanya Soares (0374377)